Exterior vehicle door handles may include a handle strap having a forward end that is pivotably mounted to a door structure to provide for outward rotation of the handle strap about a generally vertical axis. A rear end portion of the handle strap includes an inwardly-extending rear hook or plunger that is operably connected to a vehicle door latch via a bellcrank that transfers motion from the handle to the latch. The bellcrank is connected to the rear hook of the handle/plunger on one of its arms and the other arm is connected to a cable and the cable is connected to a latch such that outward rotation of the handle strap causes the latch to release, thereby permitting the vehicle door to pivot to an open position.
Known exterior door handle designs may suffer from looseness or wobble. Wobble may include looseness between handle and its retention/support structure that is magnified as the handle is pulled outward from its rest position and an upward or downward movement is applied, creating rotation of the handle about the horizontal axis. Thus, if a user pulls outwardly on the handle strap in a somewhat upward or downward direction, the door handle strap will tend to shift vertically, thereby generating the impression that the handle is not securely mounted to the vehicle door structure. Attempts to reduce or eliminate door wobble by reducing tolerances, and other such approaches in conventional handle strap designs has proven to be problematic.